Redemption
by animefav
Summary: Could one's heart filled with sadness and grief have the strength to accept another?


Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis

Special thanks to **Sweet Obsidian Rain **for beta-ing this story.

'_Where am I?'_

_I wondered as I walked along the highway. From the time I came to this place when I fell asleep, I had neither seen cars nor people walk pass me. This place was deserted._

_As I walked further along the road, my heart constricted painfully in my chest. _

_Something about this place felt familiar. _

_Smoke and burning metal filled my nostrils, sending all my senses into overdrive. It was like that time. I picked up my pace and ran as fast as my legs could carry me._

'_Please, don't let it be that again,' I prayed. _

_After running for what I presumed to be a few minutes, I froze in my tracks._

_In front of me was a car. His car. It was engulfed in flames. _

_It was happening all over again. _

_The events of that day. _

_I sank to the ground trying to divert my attention elsewhere, anywhere, but the scene in front of me. But no matter how hard I tried, I could not shift my focus away from the scene._

_A body was pushed out of the burning car._

_The boy landed painfully on his elbows._

_He turned to face the burning vehicle._

_Blue eyes locked onto golden ones_

_The former filled with sadness, peace and love_

_The latter clouded with fear, confusion and desperation. _

_A smile graced the face of the boy with blue eyes as flames slowly engulfed him._

_The golden eyed boy tried to move, but the intensity of those eyes kept him rooted. Like so many times before._

_A silent message was conveyed between them._

'_Don't follow me. Stay strong, keep living.'_

_Tears filled those golden eyes. _

'_Move legs, move!' I screamed inside my mind, trying to will myself to move so I could stop the accident for happening again. _

'_I can't lose him, not again.'_

_The golden eye boy opened his mouth, but no words left it._

'_Please move!' I begged._

_Screams of pain filled the site._

_Eyes widening, I stared as the rest of the incident unfolded before me for the umpteenth time._

_The same screams._

_The same tears and cries._

_Helplessness and pain washed over me._

'_But you did, Ryoma. You lost him on that day'._

_I screamed._

"_Yuki!" _

* * *

"Yuki!" 

A scream tore through my throat as I sat up abruptly. Collecting my racing heart, I looked around me. I was back in the room where I was before, not at that accident site.

Ignoring the wetness on my shirt, most likely caused by tears shed during the dream, I hugged my knees and buried my head within it. I screamed into the material. Hot liquid flowed down my cheeks, joining their cousins down on my shirt.

'It was my fault. I let him die.'

* * *

I was walking along the hallway to get myself a drink when I heard it. A scream, his scream. Ignoring all initial plans of heading to the kitchen, I ran towards the direction of his room. With all the force I could muster, I pushed opened the door. 

"Ryoma!?"

He looked up from his position on the bed.

Tousled hair, red puffy eyes, tears were rolling down his cheeks. This only happened to him when he had a nightmare. I ran up to him on the bed. Immediately, he lunged at me and buried his head within my chest.

"I dreamt of him again, Atobe, the day he died." He cried.

Though it was muffled, I could hear it clearly. I placed one arm around his shaking figure and using my other hand, combed his silky black hair trying to calm him down.

"Shh, don't cry," I comforted, "It was not your fault."

He snapped up and grabbed a handful of my shirt. Our eyes locked. Pain and anger clouded those golden orbs.

"How could you say that, you were not there," his voice was cracking with emotions, "I killed him," he paused, "If I had moved, then I could have saved him. I let him die."

He let go of my shirt and hug his arms around himself.

"You don't know how it feels like to see the one you loved die in front of your eyes."

* * *

After that conversation, he broke down and cried. 

Knowing that he wanted to be alone, I left the room. Closing the door gently behind me, I leaned against the door to his room. His sobs left the room and filled the hallway. My heart pained at the sound.

After a while, all was silent. He had exhausted himself. I opened the door carefully, lest waking him up. He was sleeping, hands to the side, covers thrown all over the floor. I smiled. I put him in a comfortable sleeping position and placed the covers over him.

Giving him a light peck on the forehead, I stood up and left. Just as I was about to close the door for the second time, his words stopped me.

"Yuki, I am sorry."

* * *

I walked back to my room. My footsteps were heavier than before. All thoughts of getting a drink left me. Opening the door to my room, my attention landed on the focal point of the room, the painting hanging over my bed. 

It was a painting of a boy with black-greenish hair and golden eyes. He was sitting, head resting on one knee, by the window, staring out into the night. His hands were hanging loosely by his side. The moonlight shining into the room served to make his features more mysterious and eternal.

Like an angel.

A broken angel.

"_You don't know how it feels like to see the one you loved die in front of your eyes."_

His words ran through my mind. My hand stopped midway from touching the painting. I drew my hand back, and grabbed the nearest item, throwing it across the room. It broke and shattered into a million pieces, like my heart did.

I laughed.

I laughed at the irony of it all.

Footsteps came closer to my door and stopped. Nobody opened the door.

'Wise ones. I don't think I am in any state to face anyone right now.'

I turned back to the painting, attention focusing on the face in it, taking in the sad expression on the face and the existent tears swelling in those eyes.

_I don't know how it felt like to see the love of your life die,_

_But Echizen,_

_I know all too well the feeling of seeing the person you love break _

_And yet not being able to do a single thing._

_It hurts._

A/N: Hopefully this chapter is not too confusing. I know, I should finish one story before I start on another but I had this idea and do not want to let it slip away. Regarding my other story, well I am currently having "writer's block", some parts do not seem to link together but I would try my best to update for both stories. Please review.


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